CBS REJECTS ANTI-BUSH SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

Ad Age ^ | January 15, 2004 | Ira Teinowitz

[Prodigal Son]

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Viacom's CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad during the Super Bowl, saying the spot violated the network's policy against running issue advocacy advertising.

Network policy A CBS spokesman said the decision against broadcasting the spot had nothing to do with either the Super Bowl or the ad's specific issue but was because the network has had a long-term policy not to air issue ads anywhere on the network.

A MoveOn spokesperson said the group hopes to appeal the decision within CBS.

Produced as a personal project by Charlie Fisher, creative director of the Copenhagen, Denmark, office of Publicis Groupe ad agency Leo Burnett, the spot is critical of the Bush administration's fiscal policies.

Anti-Bush contest MoveOn is airing a 60-second version the commercial, which was selected through a contest calling for anti-Bush ads, in advance of President Bush's State of the Union address Jan. 20. The group has purchased $300,000 worth of air time on Time Warner's CNN that starts Jan. 17 and runs through Jan. 21.

[mewzilla]

Kid Rock, one of the preformers, has done a lot for the USO.

Well, good for him! Um, who is he?

[JoJo Gunn]

They can always move it to Showtime....

[bayourod]

I don't see anything objectionable about ads saying that our national debt will be paid by the children in Denmark.

[#3Fan]

An attack ad on Dubya during the Super Bowl would not be well-received by the public.

Yeah, people want to see good ads, not the rantings of communist wackos. lol

[Hotdog]

I agree...run it...or as he would say..."Bring it on"!

[Warren]

Betcha Dan Blather is not happy.

[sinkspur]

I live in Dallas, about 250 miles to the north.

I actually wouldn't mind going this year, to see the Eagles get ground up by whichever AFC team plays them.

[mewzilla]

Never mind :) Just googled him. That Kid Rock. Nice of him to do the USO stuff, though.

[JusPasenThru]

It's censorship, I tell you, it's censorship. I feel a cold wind blowing...

Now about those pro-life commercials that none of the networks would air...

[southernnorthcarolina]

MoveOn aside, there may be a real interloper at Super Bowl XXXVIII...

GO PANTHERS!

Can you imagine the long faces at CBS if two "small market" teams, Carolina and Indianapolis, face off in Houston? We could call it the Flyover Country Super Bowl.

[Sam Cree]

"It's during the time that all Americans come together to over-eat and get drunk. Not exactly the best time to put up political ads..."

Am now considering what kind of beer to drink for the game. Heinekins, most likely.

[Prodigal Son]

Man, how much cash did Soros give to MoveOn? Isn't a SB minute like a couple of million dollars?

Yeah, this is a consideration isn't it?

If they don't get to air during the Super Bowl, they will actually have more money to air it more times on other nights.

Soros pledged his entire fortune if he really believed it would get Bush out of office.

[Morgan's Raider]

They're afraid that one or more incensed Americans will watch it and pull down a transmission tower with their pickup truck. Not that I'd do anything like that with my Ford F-150 XLT. >;-)

Damn right you won't. It'll take a Chevy to do that kind of pulling! :-)

[dpwiener]

Maybe given these facts, Dubya might pick up a few votes: 1) It's completely untrue.

What is untrue about the ad? It asks who will pay for President Bush's trillion dollar deficit, and indicates that our children will have to pay for it.

Off-hand I don't know the exact total that the deficits add up to during Bush's first term in office, but a trillion dollars sounds like it's in the right ballpark. It's a legitimate criticism of a Republican White House and a Republican Congress, neither of which seem to comprehend the concept of "spending restraint" or "fiscal responsibility".

So what's your problem with the contents of the ad?

[New Horizon]

That halftime show isn't all bad. Kid Rock, one of the preformers, has done a lot for the USO.

Kid Rock sucks.

But I love him anyway...his support for our troops is first and foremost.

By the way, Kid Rock sucks...and the primary reason is that he felt the need to rip-off that idiotic voice sampling technology from Cher.

I had absolutely no respect for his "music" after that.

[snooker]

After CBS's big hit with the Reagan movie you would think CBS would want to double down and try again.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

There's nothing wrong with the content, however, those who would run it would have absolutely no problem with spending except when a Republican does it.

[Humidston]

Really? You mean the MOVEON GROUP WHO USED TO HAVE A DIRECT LINK OFF OF THE COMUNIST PARTY'S USA WEBSITE?

I wonder why they took it off....

/sarcasm

[Viking2002]

Hey, listen - A) My wife got it at book because her ex was a sales manager for a Ford dealership, and B) she happens to manage an auto parts store, and she's always bitching about how many Chevy parts they sell vs, Ford.

Now, me? I happen to be a Generous Motors man, myself. Just bought a '03 Pontiac a few months ago, and nuts to her. :-)

[gc4nra]

Eloquently stated. I had the same thought, but couldn't put it into words that could be posted!